Protest Process
The Protest Process
Informal Review
How do I protest my value?
Deadline for Filing Protest
Payment of Taxes
Informal Review
Please visit our office if you believe your appraisal is in excess of fair market value or is of unequal value. A member of the appraisal staff will review your property record with you. The appraiser will make an immediate adjustment if an error affecting value is determined. The law gives property owners the right to protest actions concerning their property tax appraisals including:
- Value placed on your property;
- Inclusion of your property on the appraisal roll;
- Qualification for an agricultural or timber appraisal;
- Unequal appraisal of your property;
- Any exemptions that may apply to you;
- Ownership of property;
- Any action taken by the appraisal district or appraisal review board that adversely affects you;
How do I protest my value?
To protest an appraisal value set by SCAD, a taxpayer must notify the appraisal district in writing by 30 days from the date of the Notice of Appraised Value. If no Notice of Appraised Value was generated by the appraisal district, a protest may still be filed by May 31. The Notice of Protest need not be an official form; however, the appraisal district can send you a Notice of Protest form to complete and submit. A letter may be submitted stating the protesting property owner's name, identifying the subject property and indicating an apparent dissatisfaction with some determination of the appraisal district.
Deadline For Filing Protest
The deadline for filing protests with the ARB is on or before May 31 or 30 days after a notice of appraised value was mailed to you, whichever is later. Late protests are allowed if you miss the usual deadline for good cause. Good cause is some reason beyond your control, like a medical emergency. The ARB decides whether you have good cause. Late protests are due the day before the appraisal review board approves records for the year.
For change of use (the appraisal district informed you that you are losing agricultural appraisal because you changed the use of your land), the deadline is before the 30th day after the notice of the determination was mailed to you.
If you believe the appraisal district or ARB should have sent you a notice and did not, you may file a protest until the day before taxes become delinquent, which is usually February 1st. The ARB decides whether it will hear your case based on evidence about whether a required notice was mailed to you.
Payment of Taxes
If you appeal and your case is pending, you must pay the lesser of the amount of taxes due on the portion of the taxable value not in dispute or the amount of taxes due on the property under the order from which the appeal is taken.